Yesterday, the United States’ State department publicly urged the government of Bahrain to show restraint, to refrain from using violence against peaceful protesters. Today, the government of Bahrain showed no apparent restraint in using violence against peaceful protesters. Also today, Bahrain Crown Prince Sheikh Salman bin Hamad was quoted as calling “for self-restraint from all sides, the armed forces, security men, and citizens.” So we’re all agreed on that point.

Except, of course, for Bahrain’s military, the only people using violence. But of course, no one ordered them to. It just sort of happened. And certainly, if someone had ordered them to open fire on peaceful protesters, well, there is certainly nothing that the US could do about it but urge restraint. It’s a whole different country.

This is a doctor in Bahrain, Dr. Ghassan, imploring the world to take notice:

This is Al Jazeera’s report:

Does the fact that the US has a naval base in the same city play into this? Should it? And what does it mean if it does not? Perhaps the US has hospitals in that navy base? Perhaps it has an ambulance or two?

In a state department cable from 2008, a scene-setter for General Petreus’ visit made available for us by wikileaks, Bahrain’s dependence on the US was described this way:

Bahrain’s national security strategy rests squarely on the presence here of NAVCENT/Fifth Fleet headquarters and Bahrain’s close security partnership with the U.S.

and

As the smallest Gulf state, Bahrain has historically needed closer security ties with a western patron than any of its neighbors. As a result, the U.S. Navy has had a presence here since the closing days of the second world war. As General Mansoori’s command of CTF 152 demonstrates, we can use our close security ties with Bahrain to continue pushing the envelope for GCC-U.S. security cooperation.

The United States is very close to this government. If you ask googlemaps how long it takes to drive from Salmaniya hospital to the US naval base in Manama — the location of the Navy’s 5th fleet — googlemaps tells you it takes 12 minutes. Here’s the route:

If you ask googlemaps how long it takes to drive from the hospital to the US embassy, it takes six minutes.

3 Comments to ““Eyewitness to AJE: The army shot us today, not police.””

Bahrain isn’t Egypt, but the U.S. is the same country that favored Egypt’s protesters and turns its back on those in Bahrain. It appears that unprincipled interests trump principles where the 5th Fleet sleeps. Where are all those sailors going to party tonight?

These visual/audio evidence of Bahraini army actions on peaceful protesters is atrocious.

I am aware of the fact that Gov troops in Bahrain are largely “outsiders”. But there is still a great role for social shunning – a much underused but potentially very powerful form of non-violent action against a government that is .

These Gov troops are *not* completely isolated from Bahrain locals. Any Bahrain local who in any way typically comes into voluntary (not at the point of a gun) association with the enforcers can refuse to continue to do so. And those who do not, can and should be shunned by their fellow Bahrain locals. Gandhi’s method is called for, ” to create ‘disaffection’ as such, that people might consider it a shame to assist or cooperate with a government that had forfeited all title to respect or support.”

Secondary shunning may need to play a more important role in Bahrain because of the greater use of foreign troops.
Another way shunning can be brought into play is by those outside of Bahrain who know these foreign gov enforcers – a network of Internet users who can help identify these outsider Bahrain gov enforcers, put names on their faces and persuade by words to the friends/family of these enforcers to persuade or shun the enforcers themselves. The shunning can be long distance as well as in-person in this case.

There is much still among the non-violence methods of Gene Sharp (who was heavily influenced by Gandhi) not being used and social shunning/ostracism – which I and husband Paul Wakfer refer to as negative Social Preferencing in our writings – is a major one.

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